Will science ever really be able to explain love? Science has already found correlations between particular hormones and certain forms or stages of love. However, no matter how many correlations we find between brain activity and love, correlation does not imply causation. And what does it mean to explain love scientifically -- would that change our attitude towards it? We realize that raising this subject risks fueling the widespread and irritating misconception that “skeptic” = “cynical killjoy,” which is the last thing we want to do. As good skeptics though, what do we do when faced with a mysterious and unexplained phenomenon? We look for explanations!

Common sense is not very scientific in itself. It is, as Einstein said, it is merely an accumulation of prejudices.

Having clarified that, I think this podcast was good. It opened out a view which questions the stereotypical things people say about love. On the other hand, love causes a mental state which compromises rational thinking. I thought that would´ve been an very interesting aspect to cover.

I must say I think most people do understand the difference between a scientific explaination and personal experience...it is condescending to assume otherwise. Perhaps the reason you assume people have a smug attitude towards things science can´t explain is because rather than to objectively explore these phenomenon, some scientists think their world view is superior to other perspectives. Whereas as Massimo pointed out, there are various levels of understanding, experiencing and thinking about anything. Maybe this is what people intend to convey when they talk about science not being able to address every question at every experential level.

It most surely is not the role of science to address all of them. But then scientists must also put themselves into perpective of a larger world in which scientific exploration is merely a part.

Very interesting topic. Isn't Love really just about CommUnity to make it easier for us to stay in Groups and take care of one another rather than people just fending for themselves in an unpredictable World ..

Very interesting topic. Isn't Love really just about CommUnity to make it easier for us to stay in Groups and take care of one another rather than people just fending for themselves in an unpredictable World ..